Kanye West’s legal troubles are piling up like Yeezy sneakers in an Adidas warehouse.
On June 3, the rapper and designer’s former assistant sued him for sexual harassment and wrongful termination. Lauren Pisciotta, who worked for West for two years, claims he sent her sexually explicit text messages and behaved inappropriately during her tenure with him.
West has not yet publicly responded to the allegations.
🚨What just happened
According to the filing, obtained by the Blast, Pisciotta worked in the music industry in various positions for 15 years. West hired her as a creative collaborator on his Yeezy Season 1 women’s fashion line (which released in 2015) and she worked on his 2021 album. Donda.
In July 2021, she was hired to “serve as [Ye’s] Executive Assistant/Personal Assistant in connection with business affairs.” She said they agreed on a salary of $1 million a year, but she had to be available “24/7.”
The year before she was hired full-time by West, Pisciotta said she made $1 million creating content on OnlyFans and social media posts. Initially, West agreed to continue — describing Pisciotta to people as “an OnlyFans superstar” — but in August 2022, he changed his mind. She claimed he asked her to “be Divine” and delete the OnlyFans account. He would pay her $1 million, she claimed, and she agreed.
Pisciotta claimed he never paid her and began sexually harassing her. She alleged that he would send her messages that were sexual in nature and masturbated during phone calls with her. She claimed he texted her pornographic videos of himself.
Pisciotta also alleged that West called her to a room on a plane en route to Paris and closed a door that could not be opened from the inside, and masturbated under the covers in a bed, according to Rolling Stone.
Pisciotta said she was promoted to chief of staff of West’s various companies in September 2022 and was told she would receive a $3 million bonus. The following month, she was offered a $3 million severance package. She said she never received the money.
Her lawsuit alleged that West had an “obsession” with her, at one point moving into the building where she lived and “stalking” her after she was “wrongfully fired.”
She “did not welcome or encourage these offensive actions, texts, videos and statements,” the lawsuit said.
Pisciotta is suing for at least $4 million, including citing violations and a hostile work environment.
⚖️West’s explosion of legal troubles
West’s legal team has been working overtime over the past two years. His anti-Semitic crisis in 2022 led to massive financial fallout, including the closure of his school, Donda Academy, and the termination of fashion partnerships with Adidas. It has resulted in several lawsuits:
April 2024: Benjamin Deshon Pravo, who worked as a security guard at Donda Academy, sued him for racial discrimination, claiming that West favored his white employees over black ones. Pravo also claimed that Ye fired him after he refused to cut his dreadlocks.
The same month, Trevor Phillips, who worked at both Donda Academy and Yeezy, filed a lawsuit, alleging that West had engaged in discriminatory and anti-Semitic behavior. He claimed the rapper compared himself to Hitler and created a hostile work environment. Phillips said West wanted to shave students’ heads and lock them in cages.
February 2024: West claimed that Adidas sued him for $250 million. While that lawsuit appears never to have been filed, West could have been referring to the former Yeezy manufacturer filing a private arbitration case against his Yeezy LLC. The company said West’s “racist, anti-Semitic and other offensive public statements and conduct” violated their partnership agreement and damaged the brand.
September 2023: Tony Saxon, who worked as a live-in concierge, security guard and project manager at West’s multimillion-dollar beachfront mansion in Malibu, California, sued him for $1 million. He claimed he was forced to work in dangerous conditions while the property was being renovated into a 1910s-style air raid shelter, and that he did not get what he was promised. Saxon claimed he had to sleep on the floor of the property and use a jacket as bedding, injuring his back.
June 2023: Paparazzo Nichol Lechmanik has sued West for allegedly throwing her phone into traffic. She claimed she filmed him arguing with another photographer. He saw her in her car and confronted her, before taking the phone from her hand. Lechmanik is suing for assault, battery, negligence and interference with the exercise of her civil rights.
May 2023: Gap Inc. sued West for $2 million in connection with the dissolution of their partnership. He pulled the plug on the deal in 2022, claiming Gap had defaulted on its agreement by stocking its products and opening Yeezy Gap stores.
April 2023: Teachers Cecilia Hailey and Chekarey Byers filed a lawsuit claiming Donda Academy failed to acknowledge their complaints after detecting “multiple health and safety violations, as well as unlawful teaching practices.” They said the school did not follow California state rules for students needing educational services, additional testing or individualized learning plans. They said there were no bullying prevention, cleaning or medical services, and the school did not follow nutritional guidelines for lunch. A third teacher, Timanii Meeks, later joined the lawsuit.
